Natural rubber prices have been the bane of tyre makers in India of late, and on November 12 the New Delhi based Financial Express reported that major tyre manufacturers in India are considering production cuts to minimise on losses arising from prices that have risen above Rs 200 (£2.77) a kilogram.
Should NASA ever get round to popping back to the moon or decide to dispatch a wheeled vehicle to Mars, it can make arrangements secure in the knowledge it has an award winning tyre to draw upon. On November 11, US based publication R&D Magazine held its 48th Annual R&D 100 Awards and named Goodyear Tire & Rubber, together with the NASA Glenn Research Center, a winner in its ‘mechanical devices’ category. The award was given for both parties’ work on the ‘Spring Tire’, an airless tyre capable of transporting large, long-range vehicles across the surface of celestial bodies.
Upon announcing Apollo Tyres Ltd’s results for the second quarter and first half of the current Indian financial year, company chairman Onkar S Kanwar commented “it’s been a very difficult six months managing the unprecedented rise in natural rubber prices.” This is perhaps an understatement; Kanwar noted the company’s natural rubber costs have risen 70 per cent in the last year and 150 per cent in the space of two years – a significant amount, considering the commodity accounts for 60 per cent of Apollo’s raw material costs. “This has affected all aspects of our operation.” Kanwar added. “I do hope the Government will look at some measure to check speculation, as well as bring down the unreal duty structure we have.”
Apollo Tyres reports that its south African Dunlop brand has emerged as the country’s number one tyre brand in an independent survey. The iconic brands survey, conducted by TGI South Africa and commissioned by the Afrikaans language newspaper Rapport and English language paper City Press, measured the usage of more than 8,000 brands within 19 different product categories.
Apollo Tyres has taken a further step with its retail business within India. The company already operates 15 Apollo Zones in a number of major cities, and now the tyre maker reports opening its first Apollo Super Zone centre. Located in Kolkata, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, this 16th Apollo Zone outlet is the largest opened by the company to-date and has a showroom space of 5,000 square feet. The new Apollo Super Zone was inaugurated by Apollo Tyres' chairman, Onkar S Kanwar.
At present Apollo Tyres exports 50,000 Apollo branded tyres a month to Europe from its factory in Vadodara, India, yet company ‘sources’ claim this quantity will increase markedly in the coming months. According to Indian financial journal the Hindu Business Line, sources expect a 30 per cent increase in the monthly shipment of tyres to Europe, with 65,000 units a month arriving here by March- April 2011.
Strike action at Apollo, Continental and Goodyear’s factories in South Africa has ended and workers are scheduled to resume work on September 30. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa says the month-long strike, which arose following stalled negotiations with New Tyre Manufacturing Industry Employers' Association, has been resolved following the decision to revise pay structures for tyre industry workers.
Apollo Tyres is apparently still considering its options for production in Eastern Europe. Company chairman Onkar S. Kanwar has said, reports India based financial news site livemint.com, that Apollo is “evaluating takeover possibilities” within the region. The tyre maker may invest up to Rs 20 billion (£280 million) buying and setting up facilities in outside of India; livemint.com says that an Asian acquisition is also being evaluated. A further Rs 10 billion is said to have been earmarked for expanding capacity within India.
Apollo Tyres has notified the Bombay Stock Exchange that employees at its factories in Africa have joined a nationwide industry strike organised by National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA). Apollo states that “consequent upon declaration of a general strike in tyre industry in South Africa, the workers of both the plants at Durban and Ladysmith of ATSA (Apollo Tyres South Africa) have also gone on strike.”
As the parent company of the Dunlop brand in South South Africa (SA), Apollo Tyres SA has launched a new campaign to highlight its Dunlop Zones retail network’s commitment to striving for “precision tyre fitment,” in line with the Dunlop brand’s positioning of “Driven by Precision.”
Apollo Tyres reports the successful conclusion of negotiations with union representatives over the lockout at its Perambra factory in India’s Kerala state. After reaching an agreement with two of the three unions representing employees at the company’s so-called “mother” plant, Apollo has announced the end of the lockout which began on June 11.
Indian manufacturer Apollo Tyres has announced it is to invest 6.6 million euros in its Enschede, Netherlands manufacturing unit to increase the plant's capacity from 5.1 million to 6 million tyres per annum. The company’s South African concerns in Durban and Ladysmith will also receive investments totalling a reported $30 million for expansion and equipment upgrades.
Figures released by Pirelli and Michelin show growth in on-road tyre markets across all global regions during June 2010. The Italian and French tyre makers respectively estimated growth in Europe’s OE passenger car tyre market to be nine per cent and 8.9 per cent during the month, with year to date growth in this segment given as 22 per cent and 25.2 per cent. For the European replacement segment, Pirelli and Michelin report June market growth to have been 11 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively, with year to date growth figures exactly the same for both companies. Within Europe the OE truck tyre market is estimated by Pirelli to have grown 69 per cent year-on-year in June, while Michelin logs a 74.7 per cent growth for the month. Year to date growth is given as 30 per cent and 28.7 per cent. According to Pirelli European replacement market truck tyre sales grew 20 per cent in June, with Michelin providing a very similar figure of 19.7 per cent. Year to date, Pirelli and Michelin estimate growth in this segment to be 27 per cent and 28.7 per cent respectively.
The 2009-10 financial year was, for Apollo Tyres, a year in which the company “walked new geographies, met different people, mingled with various cultures, learnt new lessons, and have been amply rewarded for our keenness to explore newer pastures and challenges.” These words from company chairman Onkar S Kanwar describe a period of massive change for the tyre maker, a time of transition that has seen Apollo emerge as an entity operating on a global level.
The first shipment of original equipment tyres left Apollo Tyres’ new factory in the city of Chennai. A batch of 500 Acelere passenger car tyres were despatched to Hyundai Motor India Limited on July 20. To mark the occasion, the Indian National flag and the Apollo flag were formally hoisted at the entrance of the Plant by Apollo’s chief of projects and unit head.
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